Sometime Around Midnight
by ShellSueD
Summary: Late night visits from the man of mystery. This will be 5 short vignette's
1. Chapter 1

_As always, no profit is being made by me._

* * *

It was sometime around midnight and I couldn't get to sleep. I was just thinking about getting up and popping in my Ghostbuster's DVD when I heard the locks tumble on my front door.

There is only one person who entered my apartment that way - in the middle of the night - without invitation – and without knocking – so I was pretty confident I knew who it was.

I rolled over and there he was, leaning in the doorway of my bedroom. His arms were crossed loosely over his chest, his hair was pulled back from his face in a pony tail, and as always, he was dressed in head to toe black.

And, as always - just the sight of him took my breath away.

He'd been actively avoiding me for months so this visit was a bit of a surprise. Not that I was complaining- because Ranger in your bedroom was _never_ cause for complaint – but I could count on one hand the number of times I'd seen him in the past eight months. We'd crossed paths a couple of times at the bonds office when he was dropping off body receipts and I'd seen his Turbo do a cursory drive by the last time one of my cars blew up, but other than that, nothing.

Ever since the one night we'd spent together he'd been putting more and more distance between us. First – he'd be busy or headed to a meeting every time I called – or it would take hours or even days before he'd respond to a text – then he started sending Tank or Hal to rescue me when I was in over my head with a skip instead of coming himself.

The worst part, at least I thought it was the worst part, was when we did happen to be in the same space at the same time I would get only a slight nod or a raised eyebrow in acknowledgement. The smoldering looks that made me literally weak in the knees stopped - the stolen kisses in the alley next to the office stopped, and all those opportunities to touch me that he used to take - they stopped too. I missed that.

I missed _him_.

But here he was, in my room, in the middle of the night as if nothing had changed between us.

I was at once utterly confused and unbelievably happy at his sudden appearance.

"Hey," I said as he stood there watching me.

"Can't sleep?" he asked.

"Had kind of a tough day," I told him. "My brain doesn't seem to want to shut off."

"I heard about Kubler," he said.

Klaus Kubler had been arrested for assault with a bird after he let one of his pet pigeons loose on his ex-wife when she tried to have her monthly alimony payment increased. The bird pecked the shit out of her leg and it had taken twenty eight stitches to sew her up. He'd gone FTA after Vinnie bonded him out and I was the lucky one who got to round him up and haul his ass back to jail.

Of course, as was typical with me, things didn't exactly go according to plan.

Lula went with me for the apprehension and when he readily agreed to go to the station to be re-bonded and even got into my car without having to be restrained, we thought we were about to experience the easiest capture ever.

Turns out you should really be suspicious when your skip is wearing a floor length, bulging trench coat in the middle of July. Or anytime, really.

As soon as I pulled away from the curb in front of his house, he took off the coat and about a dozen pigeons flew into the confined interior of my car. Lula freaked out when one of them latched onto her braids and she leapt from the car, screaming bloody murder, when I slammed on the brakes.

I was trapped is a mass of flapping wings and flying bird shit and when I finally got free from the seatbelt and threw my body outside all I saw was Klaus Kubler running into his house cackling like a lunatic and Lula booking down the street in her four inch heels, screeching and waiving her arms in the air with a pigeon attached to her head.

Another banner apprehension failure for Stephanie Plum, the worst bounty hunter in history.

"I showered twice but I think I still smell like pigeon," I said and I could see the corners of his lips tilt up in the dim light from my bathroom night light.

"You gonna try again?"

I sighed. Of course I was. I'm glutton for punishment. "Yeah, although I'm thinking about making him strip first, just to be safe."

"Well, it's not like you haven't hauled in a naked skip before," Ranger said. This was unfortunately true.

"I have some time tomorrow, if you want help," he offered.

_What?_ He hadn't spoken to me for months and now he's offering assistance? And why did I so desperately want to say yes?

"Oh…that's okay. Thanks for the offer, but I'll work it out."

"Let me know if you change your mind." He reached up and pulled out the tie from his pony tail and his shoulder length hair spilled down and settled around his face. He shook it out and then ran a hand through it. When he let out a long breath, I realized that he looked like he hadn't slept for at least a few nights.

"You okay?" I asked. "You're looking pretty beat."

He gave me a small smile. "Just came off a forty eight hour surveillance job. A Couple of my guys are out with the flu so Tank and I worked doubles." He rubbed his face and I could hear the scraping of his two day beard over the skin.

"Bummer," I said. Was I a great conversationalist or what?

He laughed a little and then moved into my room. He unhooked his utility belt, dropped it on the floor, folded himself into the chair next to my bed and began unlacing his boots.

It really seemed like he was getting ready to get into bed and I was starting to sweat.

"Um….Ranger?

He looked up from his task with his eyebrows raised in question.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm really tired and don't feel like driving home so I'm just going to crash here."

Sure, of course. Don't talk to me for months but then show up and crawl into my bed. That's normal behavior. Of course this is Ranger we're talking about. Nothing about him is normal.

"In my bed?"

That got a full smile out of him and I almost forgot why I was protesting. "I've slept in your bed before, babe."

That was true. He'd slept in my bed several times and he'd also done a lot of other things in my bed – but that was before. Everything was different now – _he_ was different now and I couldn't figure out why he was acting like nothing had changed.

"I can keep my hands to myself, if that's what you're worried about," he said after I didn't respond.

"You've made that _very_ clear," I couldn't stop myself from saying, "but…"

His hands froze in the middle of untying his other boot and he tilted his head to the side as if he was just realizing I might not be happy about the situation. "Do you want me to go?"

Yes. No. Maybe. _Jeez! _ I really just wanted him to tell me what the hell was going on inside his head but that was something Ranger didn't do. _Ever._

"No," I said slowly even though I thought it was probably a better idea for him to leave – or at least sleep on the couch.

"Good," he said and pulled off his boots and socks. He stood up and the knife that is usually strapped to his leg was in his hand. He set it on my night stand along with his phone and then pulled the gun from the small of his back and added that to the pile.

He sat down on the bed and then stretched out on his back beside me. True to his word, he kept his hands to himself. He linked them together behind his head and closed his eyes.

Great. Apparently the talking part of the evening was over. I sighed and flipped over on to my back. I listened to his breathing for a long time and just when I thought he had fallen asleep, he spoke again quietly.

"Were you going to tell me about Vince?"

_Shit. _So that's what this was about.

"I didn't know I was _required_ to tell you anything," I said, my defenses up.

"You're not," he agreed. "I just thought you would."

Yeah right. Ranger is the_ last_ person I would want to tell.

"I can't believe _he _told you," I said.

Ranger let out a short laugh and I turned my head to look at him. He was in the same position, eyes still closed, but there was a small smile playing on his lips.

"He didn't," he said. "He asked my permission first, but he didn't tell me that he actually went through with it."

"_What?" _I sat up and glared down at him. "Your _permission_?" He opened his eyes but didn't say anything.

"I'm not your property, Ranger. No one should need to get permission from you for me about anything!"

He smiled that little half smile that was really starting to piss me off. I didn't want him to be amused by me at the moment. "Stop _smiling_!"

"It's the bro-code. You don't date another's guys ex without asking first. That's just how it works."

"I'm not your ex, Ranger….I'm not your anything."

"Semantics, babe. They all asked, by the way. Vince was just the only one who had the balls to actually do it, apparently."

"What do you mean by 'all'?"

Ranger laughed again. "All my guys, with the exception of Tank, wanted permission to ask you out on a date."

Jesus. I'm such an idiot. They probably had some sort of pool going to see who could get in my pants first.

"That's not true," Ranger said. "There was no bet. I wouldn't have allowed it if there was."

How does he do that? "Stop reading my mind. It's really creepy."

"Sorry," he said. "But you telegraph everything you're thinking. You'd be a horrible poker player."

I sighed and flopped back down beside him.

"They all genuinely like you, Steph. And they enjoy your company. It's not surprising they want to see if there might be more there."

"So your guys asked you for permission to date me and you told them all yes?"

"Except for Lester."

"_Damn_. Lester is the cutest one."

"Lester is a man-whore, babe."

"Well, maybe I like man-whores." Maybe I really did. Joe was a man-whore. Well, he used to be anyway.

"No you don't," he said.

"This is a disturbing conversation."

We stopped talking for several long moments. I was contemplating all of the merry men wanting to date me and who knows what Ranger was contemplating. Ranger does not telegraph anything.

"Did you have a good time?" he wanted to know.

I didn't even have to think about it. I'd had a great time. Vince is charming and funny and he looks a lot like Bradley Cooper, so that's a bonus. His blue eyes sparkle when he laughs and I found out when he brought me home that he's a pretty terrific kisser.

I'd been as surprised as anyone when he'd asked me. It happened after a distraction job I did at the request of Tank. (Ranger had been mysteriously absent) Vince had taken Ranger's role of snatching the guy as soon as I got him out of the club and I'd tripped and fallen (of course) during the grab and Vince was there to pick me up and dust me off.

He helped me to my car, as I'd broken my heel when I fell, made sure I was all buckled in and then asked me to have dinner with him. I laughed at first and told him he was only asking because he was enthralled with my outfit that stopped just short of being slutty. He seemed a little hurt that I'd think that of him so I'd agreed to the date.

"Yes, I did," I told him.

"You gonna see him again?

I shrugged. "Maybe. Probably."

"Does Morelli know?"

"I don't know. Wait…why would Joe care? We haven't been together for almost a year."

"Doesn't mean he wouldn't care."

I thought about that. "Maybe he would, but really I think he'd just be happy it wasn't you." I glanced at Ranger and his eyes were closed again. But he was smiling.

"Do _you_ care?" I wondered.

He didn't answer for so long that I thought he had dozed off.

"I want you to do what makes you happy," he finally replied.

I decided not to point out that he hadn't answered the question.

"Get some sleep, babe." And then he rolled over on his side, facing away from me, and took his own advice.

It was nearly dawn before I drifted to sleep and when I awoke several hours later, he was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

A loud crash brought me instantly out of a deep and dreamless sleep. I bolted up in bed and reached for my night stand. I don't know why; my gun is in the cookie jar on the kitchen counter.

My heart was beating a crazy rhythm and when my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I noticed the light in my bathroom was on. I listened hard for anymore sounds and then heard a very familiar voice muttering in what might have been Spanish.

I glanced at the clock. It was almost one in the morning and Ranger was in my bathroom.

I crawled out of bed and went to the door that was partially closed. I pushed it open and then covered my mouth to keep from screaming.

He was standing in front of my sink and he was coated with blood.

With the initial shock gone, I rushed to his side. "Omigod! What happened?"

"Sorry," he said, "I was trying not to wake you but I knocked over your make-up thing."

I'd seen my eye make-up scattered all over the floor and assumed that was what made the loud crashing noise, but I didn't really give a shit. All I cared about was the bleeding man standing in front of me.

"That's not important," I said. "This is a lot of blood; why didn't you go to the hospital?"

"You were closer," he told me. "And it's just a flesh wound."

"Right. A flesh wound. Apparently you haven't seen the puddle of blood gathering on my tile floor."

We both looked down at the blood pooling on the tile and at the steady stream flowing down his arm and dripping off the end of his fingers. "I just need to get a bandage on it and it'll be fine. Will you help me get this shirt off?"

"I think you need a hospital, Ranger." It really was a lot of blood.

"No," he shook his head. "I'll be fine."

I could argue with him some more, but it would be pointless. He would refuse to go and it's not like I could force him. Even an injured Ranger could easily over power me.

I refrained from rolling my eyes but a small sigh escaped my lips when I turned away from him to retrieve the first aid kit from under my sink. I grabbed some towels while I was there and then turned back to get started.

"Sit," I commanded, pointing to the toilet.

He looked like he was thinking about smiling but he did as I said and sat down.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" I asked as I opened the first aid kit and retrieved the scissors nestled inside. I began cutting his shirt and he lifted his eyebrows. "This thing is a lost cause anyway," I told him. When I got to the last bit around his collar, I had the thought that some of the blood on the shirt might not be his. It made me a lump form in my throat and I wondered if anyone else was hurt. I knew Vince was on the team that went out for the high bond skip they were supposed to pick up.

"Well?" I said still waiting for the story. I spread the shirt open and removed it from the arm that didn't seem to be hurt.

"I didn't get out of the way of the flying bullet fast enough." Ranger Humor.

"This is a bullet wound? What went wrong?" I reached behind him and dragged the cut shirt across his back so I could start getting it off his other arm.

"Capture got a little out of control." He winced when I moved his arm to tug the shirt loose so I just cut the part around his wound away too.

"Sorry," I murmured and finally got the whole thing off of him. I balled it up and threw it in the trash can beside the toilet. "Just a little out of control? I'd hate to see what _a lot_ out of control looks like." I tried to inspect the injury, but there was too much blood. It looked like the bullet had passed all the way through the meaty part of his shoulder. "Anyone else hurt?" I asked in what I liked to think was a casual voice.

"Ram took one in the leg, but it was just a scratch."

I raised an eyebrow. Obviously my idea of a scratch and Rangers were not exactly in synch. "Well, I hope after all this trouble, you got your man."

"Yes….and no. He's dead. He _really_ didn't get out of the way fast enough."

I ran the water in the sink until it was hot and then soaked one of the towels with it. I started cleaning the blood so I could see what we were dealing with. "Lot of paper work when they die," I commented.

That got him to smile. "Tank's handling it."

"I bet he's thrilled," I said. I managed to get all the blood off his arm and took a good look at the bullet wound. It had sliced clean through but it was pretty deep. "I think this needs stitches."

Ranger took a look and prodded it with a finger. "No, it's not that deep. Are there butterfly Band-Aid's in your kit?"

I couldn't contain the eye roll that time. "Stupid, stubborn, idiots boys," I muttered under my breath as I dug around in the kit.

"I heard that," he said.

I rolled my eyes again and came up with a package of butterfly strips, alcohol wipes, some gauze and medical tape. I cleaned it as best as I could with the wipes and managed to get it to stay closed with the butterfly strips. I slathered on some Neosporin I found in my medicine cabinet, covered the whole thing with a couple of gauze pads and taped them on.

"See, good as new," he said and grinned at me.

"Will you please have someone look at it tomorrow?" I asked. "It could get infected."

"If it will make you happy, I'll have Bobby take a look," he said.

"Why Bobby?"

"He's a trained EMT, babe."

"Oh. I didn't know. Where was he tonight?"

"It's his night off."

"Are you promising you'll have him check it out?" I knew Ranger would never break a promise he made to me.

I think he almost rolled his eyes. "Yes, I promise."

"Good." I nodded at my little victory, tossed the bloody towel into my bathtub and soaked another one with hot water. Ranger had blood everywhere and I wanted to get the rest of him cleaned up.

I started with his chest and tried not to drool as I swiped the towel over the wide expanse of muscles. Ranger without a shirt on is a sight you don't want to miss, even if he's covered with blood. His nipples harden when the towel scraped over them and I had to bite my tongue to keep from licking one. I concentrated on getting him clean which was even more difficult when I got to his abs. Ranger's abs are a work of art. Men would kill for abs like that and women tend to walk into walls at the sight of them.

I blew out a breath when I was finished, pretty proud that I hadn't attacked him, and made the mistake of looking down at his face. There was some blood smeared on his cheek and across his forehead but all I could see was the dark liquid pools of his fiery brown eyes. They were burning hot with an intensity I hadn't seen in a _very_ long time. My heart gave a little lurch.

I slowly wiped the blood from his forehead and then his cheek and his eyes never left mine. I felt like he was trying to see right into my soul. I dumped the second towel into the tub and then before I could stop them, my hands were in his hair, removing the elastic band that held it back off his face. When it was loose, I ran my hands through either side, relishing the thick silky stands as they flowed through my fingers.

Something almost like a growl sounded low in his throat and then his uninjured arm was around my waist and pulling me to him. I was standing between his legs and he hugged me tightly to his body, the side of his head pressed into my abdomen.

I kept one hand in his hair and the other one was on the back of his neck, cradling him to me. I felt tears beginning to gather in the back of my eyes. I didn't realize until that moment how much I had missed his touch.

I don't know how long we stayed like that, holding each other, but finally he pulled away and whatever spell that had been cast over us was broken.

He cleared his throat as I eased my hand out of his hair and asked me if I had any Advil.

"In the kitchen," I said, surprised to find my voice working.

He followed me out of the bathroom and I retrieved the pills from my kitchen cupboard. I shook out four into his waiting hand and was reaching for a glass to get him some water when I heard my freezer open.

When I turned to find out what he was doing I saw him toss the Advil in his throat and then wash them down with the vodka I always kept in the freezer. He swallowed three long pulls and then screwed the cap on and put the bottle back.

I could feel my eyebrows nearly touching my hairline. "What about all that 'the body is a temple' crap?"

He graced me with a full smile. "Temple is a little battered tonight, babe." He brushed past me and headed for the living room; I followed in his wake.

"Are you staying?" I asked as he settled into the couch.

"Would you mind?"

"No, of course not. I can't kick an injured man out in the middle of the night, what would the neighbors say?" I sat down in the chair across from him.

"Hah hah," he said and leaned his head back. "Would Vince mind?" he asked after a minute.

Shit. I had completely forgotten about Vince. "Would Vince mind what?"

"If I stay tonight."

"Why would he?"

Ranger was quiet for a beat. "I would mind, if I were Vince."

I blew out a breath. Vince probably would mind. "I'm not talking to you about Vince, Ranger."

He laughed lightly and then stretched out on the couch, his feet hanging over the edge. "Vodka's doing its job. I'm gonna crash."

"No," I said standing up and crossing to him. "I'm not going to make you sleep on the couch. You don't even fit. C'mon," I said, grabbing on to his hand and tugging up.

"You don't have to tell me twice," he said struggling to his feet. I pulled him to the bedroom and he fell onto his back on my bed, swinging his legs up as he went. "Thanks for patching me up, Steph," he murmured. His eyes closed as soon as his head hit the pillow and I stood there watching him.

This was the second time in a month he'd shown up at my place in the middle of the night and I'd seen him more in the past four weeks than I had in nearly a year. It's probably a coincidence that he started coming around again after I started dating Vince, right?

About a week ago after a distraction I helped with, I casually mentioned that he seemed to be around more and that I was glad he'd stopped avoiding me. I was hoping to get some sort of reaction but I should have known better. This is Ranger we're talking about. He just did that almost smile thing, kissed me on the forehead and disappeared into the night like a ninja.

I took one last look and him, let out a sigh and pulled off his boots and socks. I covered him with a blanket, gathered my pillow and another blanket and headed to the living room.

"Where you goin', babe?" I heard him say sleepily when I hit the doorway.

"I'm going to sleep on the couch," I told him. "Good night."

"Babe, wait. Stay with me – please?"

Shit. I could never say no when he used the p word.

"_Ranger…._"

"Please?"

Two pleases. _Damn him_. I shuffled back to the bed and crawled in beside him. I settled in on my back, pulled the blanket over me and shut my eyes. I was just about asleep when Ranger grabbed my hand and linked our fingers together.

"He's in love with you, you know" he said softly.

"What?"

"Vince – he's in love with you."

"That's ridiculous," I scoffed. "We've only been on four dates."

"With you, it only takes one."

I felt my heart stop beating in my chest. Was that Ranger talking or the vodka? I asked what he meant but he had fallen asleep.

Or he was doing a really good job of pretending to sleep.

When my alarm went off at eight the next morning, I was alone.


	3. Chapter 3

_This one is a little different – A Ranger POV_

* * *

The clock had just struck midnight when my phone rang. As was the case most nights, my brain was sifting through images of Stephanie, so the identity of the caller was irritatingly ironic.

I debated not answering but knew if he was calling me directly, there was probably a damn good reason.

"Yo."

"Hey," Vince replied, and I could hear the tension in his voice with just that one syllable. It got me instantly on edge and I sat up from my prone position on the couch.

"Is there a problem down there?" I sent him to Florida a week ago to train some new recruits for the Miami office. I told him it was because he was the only person I trusted to get the job done right, but I think we both knew it was because every time I saw his face I wanted to put my fist through it.

To his credit, he went without question or complaint.

"No," he said, "everything is good here. This is about Stephanie."

Fuck. I was not going to have that conversation with him. It had been bad enough when he wanted my blessing to ask her out, I could only imagine what it was now. If he tells me he wants to marry her, I will have to go to Miami and bury the body where no one will find it.

"Lost control of your woman already?" I said it just to be a dick - but again, to his credit, he didn't take the bait.

"She was supposed to call me after dinner...when she didn't I tried calling her several times...she doesn't pick up...that's-"

"Not like her," I finished his sentence for him. Sometime during that short exchange, I'd risen from the couch and begun to pace the floor. The hand not holding the phone was clenched into a fist so tightly it was starting to ache.

"No, it's not," he agreed with me. "Given her history...I just - I'm worried. Will you...will you check on her?"

I knew it was probably killing him come to me with this request. I also knew just how worried he was because otherwise he would have gone to Lester or even Tank before ever purposely asking me to be anywhere near her.

"I'll take care of it." I hung up on him and immediately called the control room.

"Control," was barked out after the first ring.

"I need the location of Stephanie's vehicle," I commanded.

I heard the clicking of a keyboard before Cal responded a second later. "It's currently in the lot of her apartment building. It's been stationary for the last ten hours."

"And her handbag?"

After the whole Abruzzi mess, and without her knowledge, I installed a tracking device in her car and another in her bag. I knew it would piss her off and she'd try to dump them so I kept that information to myself.

"In her apartment," Cal replied after some more clicking. "Also stationary for the past ten hours….is there a problem?"

I smiled a little at the concern in his voice. It wasn't surprising, the whole crew adored her and anyone of them would do anything to for her. I'd often had to break up fights between them over who got be on her protection detail. Cal had jumped on the bandwagon when all the guys followed Vince's lead and asked about dating her. I was sure he did it to protect his secret, because if I'm not mistaken, Cal would be much more interested in Hector than Stephanie.

"I'll let you know." I disconnected and dialed another number. It went to voice mail after four rings so I tried her land line. Answering machine. Vince was right; this wasn't like her.

I sorted through possible scenarios as I got dressed. She could have been kidnapped (again), she could have fallen and knocked herself unconscious, she could have cut herself and bled out on the kitchen floor….

I shook my head to clear those types of thoughts. It wasn't productive and it was making me uneasy. She probably just didn't want to talk to anyone and I should leave her alone.

I had to know for sure so I grabbed my keys out of the tray on the sideboard and headed out.

I drove way too fast on my way to her apartment, but I couldn't seem to get my foot off the gas and I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. I'd been feeling off all day and I should have known it was because of her. Stephanie and I had always had this weird connection that I still didn't understand but I wasn't going to ignore it.

I had to force myself to slow down so I could turn into her parking lot without taking out a row of cars. I pulled into the first spot I found and raced up the stairs to her second story apartment. All the lights were out and there were no signs of life when I listened at the door so I let myself in.

Living room and dining area were empty and Rex was the only occupant in the kitchen so I headed down the hall to her bedroom.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw her curled up into the fetal position in the middle of her bed. She appeared to just be sleeping, but when I stepped closer I noticed she was fully clothed, including her shoes and she was shivering almost violently. There was light sheen of sweat on her face and a faint moaning coming from somewhere low in her throat.

I clicked on the bedside lamp, lowered myself onto the bed next to her and placed my palm on her forehead. She was burning hot with fever and when I called her name and tried to get her to open her eyes, I got nothing.

I pulled off her shoes, wrapped her up in the blanket that was folded at the end of her bed and then gathered her into my arms. The moaning stopped but she was still shivering. Holding her close to my chest with my left arm, I reached for my phone with my right and hit speed dial when I got it off my belt.

Bobby's smooth deep voice picked up after two rings.

"Steph's – now. And bring Ella." I didn't have to wait for a response because I knew he'd already be on the way so I disconnected and dropped my phone on the nightstand.

I needed to check her temperature to figure out how bad this was but when I tried to lay her back on the bed, she clutched at my shirt and made disapproving noises so I just held her close until Bobby and Ella arrived ten minutes later.

Bobby's eye met mine briefly when he came through the door and then he was in full medic mode, opening his kit as he crossed the room.

"She's unresponsive," I told him as he pulled out an electronic thermometer. He bent over her and stuck it in her ear without replying. When it beeped two seconds later, his lips pressed together in a firm line making them turn white against his dark skin. He dropped the thermometer back in his bag and brought out a stethoscope. He listened to her chest and took her pulse at her wrist.

"How long has she been this way?" he finally spoke.

"I don't know I just got here. How bad is it?"

"One hundred and four. Her lungs are clear but she's dehydrated and her pulse is low. We need to get her in a cool bath – now."

"I'll get her undressed," Ella said as she came around Bobby's right side. "You go get the bath water running," she added, pointing at me.

Stephanie whimpered again when I went to lay her back on the bed and my heart turned over in my chest. I did not want to let go of her. I glanced at Bobby in question and he shook his head. "We need do this."

I reluctantly detached her hands from my shirt and gently settled her back on the bed. Leaving her in Bobby and Ella's care, I headed to the bathroom.

When I reached for the taps on the tub, I was surprised to find my hand shaking. I'd seen several of my men sick with fever in the field and even knowing that some of them wouldn't make it through, it had never affected me this way. I knew she would be fine; Bobby would make sure of it, but my hands would not stop shaking.

I plugged the drain and watched the water rise. Bobby entered the room a few minutes later carrying Steph in his arms. Ella was on his heels and had thoughtfully covered her with a sheet to protect her privacy.

Together they lowered her into the cool water and then Bobby motioned with a tilt of his head that I should follow him out. We left Ella to tend to the bath.

I sat on the couch and Bobby took the chair across from me. "I gave her some liquid Advil – that in combo with the bath should bring down the fever. I think it's just the flu, but if her fever spikes again, she'll need to go to the hospital."

I nodded and ran a hand through my hair. "I'll take care of her," I assured him.

"I don't have any doubt," Bobby said. He stared at me with hard eyes and worked a muscle in his jaw.

"Something else on your mind?" I asked.

He took a breath and blew it out slowly as if debating the wisdom of what he was thinking about saying. "You wanna tell me why _you're_ here while her boyfriend is in Miami?"

This had all the signs of a lecture – probably the same lecture Tank had tried to give me earlier today. I was not in the mood.

"Not the time to get into this, Brown." I used his last name to let him know I was pissed. Unfortunately he didn't seem to care.

"This Vince thing is eating away at you and the guys are starting to suspect you're not quite as okay with it as you purport to be."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't bullshit me, man. I've known you too long for that. Do you really think I haven't noticed the look on your face every time you see him touch her?"

Not possible. I've spent a lot of years perfecting not letting emotions show. No one knows what I'm thinking unless I want them to.

"What look is that?"

"The one where you're clearly imagining breaking every single bone in both of his hands."

_Shit_. I did imagine doing that. I stared at Bobby but didn't know what to say so I kept my mouth shut.

He sighed and shook his head. "Look, I get it," he said. "Steph is…well she's special…and I know how hard it must be for you to stand aside and let someone else be there for her but that's exactly what you need to do. If you keep hanging around and giving her hope that you might actually let her in to that dark heart of yours, she's just going to end up getting hurt. _All_ of you are going to end up getting hurt and I don't think I can sit back and watch it happen anymore."

This was only the second time in the ten years I'd known Bobby that he'd called me out on anything so I knew he was serious. Tank had said nearly the same things to me today. I could handle whatever one or the other of them thought they could dish out but the two of them together was something else entirely.

I didn't trust myself to say anything so I gave him a single nod to let him know I heard him and that I understood.

He pushed up out of the chair and stood looking down at me. "Give her the Advil every four hours and keep a close eye on the fever. She'll need liquid and food – Ella knows what to get."

I nodded again and he headed for the foyer. "Call me if you need anything else," he said over his shoulder.

"Bobby," I said, finding my voice again.

He stopped and turned around with eyebrows raised.

"I'm in love with her." The words sounded foreign on my tongue. Probably because I'd never said then out loud before. Ever.

If he was surprised by my admission, he didn't show it. Maybe I needed to take blank face lessons from Bobby since mine have been called into question.

"I know," he nodded. "But you're not willing to let her love you in return so back off and allow her to give all that love she has to someone else. Vince is a good guy - let them have a chance."

He didn't wait for a response; none was necessary. We both knew he was right.

I retreated to the bedroom after Bobby left and got my phone. I punched in Vince's number and wasn't shocked when he picked up before the first ring was complete.

"Is she okay?" he said as a greeting.

"She will be. She's got the flu with a high fever. I had Bobby here and Ella's looking after her now."

He exhaled a huge burst of air and I could actually feel the stress leaving him through the phone. "Thanks," he said.

"No problem. How's the training going?"

"Good. I don't think there is much else I can teach them." Training new recruits was a minimum three week process which I knew he was well aware of, so this was a not so subtle hint that he wanted to come home.

It was time for me to take Bobby's advice.

"I'll send a replacement immediately. You can head back to Trenton as soon as he gets there."

There was a beat of silence where I imagined the look of shock on his face. It almost made me smile.

"Oh – okay. Great...thank you, Ranger."

I disconnected and sent Tank a text instructing him to send Lester to Miami.

When Ella said it was time, I got Stephanie out of the bath and discreetly turned away while Ella dressed her in the tank top and shorts I found in her dresser. I didn't tell her how I knew what she wore to bed and Ella wisely didn't ask.

I sent her off to get juice and broth and crackers and anything else she thought Steph would need when she was able to eat. When Ella was gone I tucked her into bed and covered her with two extra blankets but she started shivering again anyway so I crawled into the bed next her and spooned her back to my front. As soon as my arm came around her she settled down and I lay there for a long time contemplating how I was going stay away from her.

###

It had been over twenty four hours since I first found her and she was finally showing signs of life. Her fever had been under a hundred for the past eight hours and she was currently tossing and turning under the blankets I had piled on top of her.

I watched her eyes slowly open and then she blinked several times.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, babe."

I think she jumped at least a couple of inches up off the mattress and her hand clutched her chest. Ooops.

"Jesus Ranger. You need to learn how to announce yourself." She settled back onto her pillow and took a couple of calming breaths.

"Sorry," I said and couldn't help smiling.

She turned and looked at me. "Are you okay?" she asked. "You look…tired."

"It's been a little rough. How do you feel?"

Her brows knitted together like she wasn't sure. "I don't know. A little groggy I guess, and hot. What's with all the blankets?" She kicked them off and dragged her legs out from between the comforter and sheets as well.

I raised an eyebrow. "It was the only thing that stopped the shivering," I said. "Do you remember anything?"

"What do you mean? What's to remember?"

"You've been really sick, Steph. Some kind of flu."

"_What?" _She sat up way too quickly, I was sure. "Whoa, dizzy," she said and lay back down. I was up and out the chair before her head hit the pillow again. I sank onto the mattress next to her and felt her forehead with the palm of my hand. Her skin was gloriously cool and smooth.

"The fever finally broke, but you need some food," I told her.

"Fever?" she questioned.

"Yeah," I confirmed. "It was over a hundred and four when I found you. I almost took you to the hospital." I was staring into the blue depths of her eyes and wondered if my blank face was in place. Probably not. "You scared the shit out of me," I admitted.

She opened and closed her mouth twice before saying, "Have you been taking care of me?"

I nodded and brushed some loose strands of hair back from her face.

Another long moment passed and then she said, "Did you put me in a bath?"

I smiled at her. "Starting to remember?"

"A little. Was Bobby here?"

"Yeah. I called him when I couldn't get you to wake up. He's the one who wanted you in the bath. He said it helps bring down high fevers."

She nodded and pulled her bottom lip into her mouth with her teeth. She did that when she was thinking - or when she was embarrassed. "Did Bobby see me naked?"

I had to smile. "No, Ella got you undressed. He did carry you to the bath – but Ella had you covered with a sheet."

"Who is Ella?"

"Ella is my house keeper."

Both her eyebrows rose in surprise. "So the Batcave comes with a housekeeper?"

"Can you really see me scrubbing toilets, babe?"

She laughed and I laughed with her. "No, absolutely not," she said.

"Do you think you can eat something? Ella left some food for you."

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry actually. But first a shower – I'm all sweaty."

I got up from her side and gave her my hand to help her up. She got to her feet with a minimum of swaying so I let her go of her. "I'll get something ready for you while you shower. It will _not_ be doughnuts." I felt I should give her that warning.

"Great," she said. "Now I have nothing to look forward to."

I smiled and headed for the kitchen.

"Ranger?" she called and I turned back to look at her. "Did _you_ see me naked?"

That sounded like it was probably a loaded question so I decided evasive was the way to go.

"I've seen you naked before, babe."

"Mmmm," was her response and I expected follow up questions but she surprised me and closed herself inside the bathroom instead.

I busied myself in the kitchen while she was showering. By the time she emerged wrapped in her robe and her wet hair tied up in a towel turban, I had nuked her some broth and found the saltines and Gatorade Ella provided.

"Eat," I demanded, pointing at the tray I set on the kitchen counter for her. She rolled her eyes but pulled out a stool and sat down. She drank some Gatorade and nibbled on a cracker.

After a few spoonfuls of soup she said, "Satisfied?"

"It's a start," I said and she rolled her eyes again.

"What day is it?" she asked.

"What was the last day you remember?" I countered.

"Thursday. I remember coming home early because I didn't feel well."

"That might be an understatement," I said. "It's early Saturday morning," I told her after glancing at my watch.

"_Shit,"_ she said and came up off her stool. "And you've been here, taking care of me this whole time?"

"Yeah," I confirmed and she came around the counter to where I was standing, watching her eat.

"Why?" she questioned and I turned to face her. "You didn't have to do that. I'm sure there were other things you could have been doing."

"Nothing else was as important to me, Steph."

I light sheen of tears developed over her eyes and she surprised me for the second time by reaching out and pulling me to her in a tight hug. Even if I had wanted to, I couldn't stop my arms from coming around her.

"Thank you," she whispered and then tilted her head back to look up at me. My brain screamed at me not to do it but my body would not obey. I bent my head and captured her lips with mine.

She melted into me and when her mouth opened and my tongue touched hers, a bolt of heat shot straight through to my stomach and pooled low in my groin. I knew she could feel my desire for her pressing through the thin material of her robe because she let out a breathy moan and I almost came at the sound.

Somehow, Bobby's words penetrated the fog of my mind and I grabbed her elbows and pushed her back, breaking the kiss. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were full of questions.

"I'm sorry," I blurted. "I didn't….I'm sorry," I repeated and let go of her arms. I moved past her out of the kitchen and retrieved my keys and gun from the counter. "I have to go," I said not looking at her. I knew if I looked at her I would see the hurt in her eyes and then I wouldn't leave, maybe not ever, so I didn't look.

"Vince is on his way back from Miami – his plane has probably already landed so he should be here soon." I was at her door and opened it before I could talk myself out of it. I heard her calling my name as I closed it behind me but I forced myself to keep moving.

When I got into my car and drove away my lips were still tingling with the memory of that last kiss – and that's what it was going to have to be.

Our last kiss.


	4. Chapter 4

_As always, I do not profit in any way shape or form. It's only for fun._

* * *

It was just after midnight and I was beginning to think maybe that last pitcher of margaritas wasn't the best decision. Mary Lou and Lula insisted on taking me out for my birthday and that involved the short black mini dress I'd bought two weeks ago, three coats of mascara, four inch black heels that made my legs look amazing and apparently, a shit ton of tequila. They really shouldn't make margaritas so damn delicious.

There was no way any of us could drive home so we took a cab and I was the last one to get dropped off. And now I just wanted to get into my apartment and go to sleep and hopefully not throw up but the stupid keyhole wouldn't stop moving around.

I was just thinking that sleeping in the hallway was probably as good as my bed when a very familiar dark hand covered mine and guided my key into the stubborn lock.

_Shit._

His other hand was under my armpit and holding me upright. I tried not to lean back into him but he smelled soooo good. What was that? Soap? Cologne? I had no idea but it made me want to lick his neck and maybe bite it too. My door opened and he walked me inside. I tried not to think about how good his arms felt around me. He closed the door behind us with his foot and flipped the deadbolt in place while still holding onto me.

"How much did you drink, Babe?" He guided me to the couch and sat me down gently. He stood above me with his eyes fixed on mine, waiting for an answer. I hadn't seen him in a couple of months and while I tried to make my mouth work I made the mistake of letting my eyes travel the length of him. He looked different. It was a very, very _good_ different.

Instead of his usual cargo pants and painted on t-shirt with a full utility belt, he was wearing dark charcoal dress pants that hugged his powerful thighs and a black - what I was pretty sure was cashmere- sweater with the sleeves pushed half way up his arms. His hair was cut short and there were two diamond earrings glinting in his ear. He looked un-fucking-believable.

"Well," I finally managed to say, "since I'm currently seeing two of you, I'm guessing maybe I had one too many." I don't think I slurred any of those words, but it was hard to concentrate with him standing in front of me looking like that - and smelling like that. He lifted an eyebrow. Bastard.

"And since I want to rip both versions of your clothes off with my teeth, probably I had _two_ too many." This is why I hardly drink. I can't keep my mouth shut. I'm pretty sure he smiled but he disappeared into my kitchen so I could have imagined it.

I lowered my head onto the back of the couch and was encouraged when the room didn't start spinning. I listened to him banging around in my kitchen and wondered what he was doing here. He'd been avoiding me – again –and I hadn't seen him since he'd taken care of me when I was sick. I made the assumption that he'd been staying away because of Vince but that reason was no longer valid since Vince broke up with me two week ago. That fact might have contributed to too much tequila being consumed.

Admittedly, I was pretty hurt, but when he told me that he couldn't continue to give his heart to me when mine so clearly belonged to someone else, I couldn't really blame him. He never said Ranger's name, but we both knew who he was talking about.

And I couldn't deny it.

I tried to let myself love Vince, I really did. He's a pretty great guy and anyone would be lucky to have him but he's just…not Ranger.

Speak of the devil, he chose that moment to interrupt my internal musings by setting a tray down on the coffee table in front of me. I tilted my head up and opened one eye to take a look.

There was a bottle of water, a cup of coffee, what I was pretty sure was a peanut butter and olive sandwich, and two Advil arranged neatly on the table. I didn't remember having all this stuff in my kitchen but I guess it wasn't out of the realm of possibilities.

I opened my other eye and watched as Ranger sat down in the chair across from me. "I'm sure you didn't eat enough before you depleted Trenton's supply of tequila," he said with that little half smile that drives me nuts. Why does he have to be so freaking sexy?

I glared at him. It was unfair that he was right all the time. We'd ordered nachos to go with the margaritas, but Lula inhaled most of them before the waiter even left the table. After the first pitcher, I didn't remember to order any more food.

I picked up the sandwich and took a bite. It was heavenly.

He gave me his rare full on smile when I bit into the sandwich a second time. "Why do you have to be so freaking sexy?" Shit. I so did not mean to say that out loud but that smile kills me.

For a split second I swear his eyes turned black with lust. "Animal magnetism, Babe."

I rolled my eyes. It really shouldn't be allowed. I sometimes think I can have an orgasm just by looking at him.

I finished my sandwich and chased it down with the coffee. When I was done, I swallowed the Advil with some of the water. "Thanks for that," I said, already feeling slightly more sober. "You either know me too well or you were at the club, watching."

I said it to see if he would react. I knew he'd been at the club – I'd seen his car in the back of the lot, but I never did see him inside. I looked, but if Ranger doesn't want to be seen, you won't see him.

He ignored my statement and tossed a small box into my lap. "Happy Birthday, Steph."

I picked it up and glanced at him. He'd never gotten me a birthday present before. I held it up to my ear and shook it like a little kid. It made Ranger laugh.

I lifted the lid and was staring down at the keys and title to a brand new Explorer. "Shit," I said. "You did not buy me a car."

"I heard you had some trouble with yours," he replied.

"You can't just buy me a car, Ranger."

"I can, and I did."

I extracted the paperwork. Yup – it was in my name. I looked at him for some sort of explanation, but of course he said nothing. "Why?" I finally asked.

He took a beat to answer and it was a typical Ranger response. "You needed a car and I wanted to give you one."

"This isn't normal, you know. And you'll be lucky if it's not blown up within a week. I can't accept this." I put the title back in the box with the keys and held it out to him.

"_Stephanie_." His tone was firm and left no room for argument. No one ever wins an argument with Ranger anyway. Fine - if he wanted to waste his money then I'd keep the stupid car – it would get destroyed anyway and then I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.

"You are infuriating," I informed him.

He opened his mouth to respond but we both turned our heads to the sounds coming from the foyer. Someone with a key was entering my apartment. There could only be one option.

No way in hell this was going to end well.

"Steph? You awake?" Vince called when the door swung open.

_Shit. _I had the urge to jump up and run to intercept him before he saw Ranger, but what would be the point? We weren't doing anything and even if we were, Vince and I aren't together anymore so it shouldn't matter. I still felt like I'd been caught doing something wrong.

"In here," I called and I heard the door shut softly before his head appeared around the wall that separates the living room from the foyer.

"Sorry it's so la…" his voice trailed off when he saw Ranger and his face turned to stone. I glanced at Ranger and his was a mirror image. _Great._

They stared at one another for a long time and I was thankful that looks couldn't _actually_ kill because they'd both be dead by now. I had just decided that I better intervene when Vince spoke.

"I thought you'd be on a plane to Miami by now."

"My flight leaves soon."

"Good." His hands were clenched into fists at his sides and Ranger sat perfectly still in his chair, but I knew he could be up and pouncing on Vince before either one of us saw it coming so I got up from the couch, dropping Ranger's present on the coffee table.

I tried to think of something to say but everything in my head sounded stupid so I just took Vince by the arm and pulled him out of the room and then out the door so Ranger couldn't overhear our conversation.

I closed the door, leaned into and looked up into Vince's astonishing blue eyes. Tonight they held a note of sadness that dimmed their brightness drastically. I hated that I was the reason.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I should have…called first."

"You don't have a single thing to apologize for." I took his hand in mine and he clung to it gratefully. "There isn't anything going on between us – I just need you to know that."

He gave me the saddest smile I've ever seen in my life and it made my heart turn over in my chest. "Yes there is," he countered. "But neither of you know what to do about it."

I couldn't argue with him but I wanted to be able to. The truth is, there has always been something between us – I've never been sure exactly what and I've been too afraid to ask.

"Look," Vince said and extracted his hand from mine. "I came by because I forgot to give you your key back." He held it out to me and I took it and palmed it in my fist. "And I wanted to give you this."

From his pocket he pulled out a beautifully wrapped box. The paper was a metallic purple and it had a shiny silver bow tied around it. "Happy Birthday, Steph," he whispered and I felt tears at the back of my eyes.

I looked up at him, my eyes shining. "Vince…you didn't ha-"

"I want you to have it," he interrupted. He leaned in and kissed my cheek while placing it in my hand. "Don't let him hurt you anymore, Stephanie," he said into my ear. "You deserve better than that."

And then he was gone.

I stayed out in the hallway until I had myself under control. I refused to let Ranger see me cry. I blew out a breath and squared my shoulders. Time to face the music.

I went back inside and dropped the present Vince had given me on my kitchen counter. I would open it later, when Ranger wasn't invading my space.

I stomped back into the living room and his head came up at the sound. I stopped and put my hands on my hips, suddenly angry. "What are you doing here, Ranger?" It came out a little harsher than I had intended, but I really wanted to know. I was sick of him showing up all the time for no apparent reason other than to confuse the shit out of me.

I was not expecting his response.

"I have to go to Miami," he said.

"I heard." I managed not to roll my eyes.

He worked a muscle in his jaw as if he really didn't want to say whatever was next.

"I won't be coming back."

And then all the air was sucked out of my apartment. I spun on my four inch heels and raced down the hall to my bedroom.

I knew he was behind me but I tried slamming the door anyway. He caught it in his hand and followed me into the room.

It was requiring a great deal of physical effort on my part to force myself to breathe and to try to keep the tears at bay.

"Steph." He was behind me and I would not turn around. The thought of never seeing him again made me not want to look at him at all. I shook my head and he tried again. "Stephanie, please look at me."

Damn it. He knows just when to use that word. I really despised how easy it was for him to get to me. I slowly turned around. Our eyes met, but of course it was impossible to read anything in his expression. The man was made of stone. Silence stretched out between us until I couldn't stand it any longer. I was always the one to give in.

"So you've come to say good-bye, is that it?"

He didn't reply right away so I asked another question. "What were you doing at the club tonight, Ranger?" His eyes widen slightly in what I can only assume was surprise. Finally some sort of reaction. "I saw your car in the lot."

A beat passed.

His voice was soft when he answered. "I wanted to wish you a happy birthday…and yes, say good-bye."

"I never saw you inside so what derailed your plan?"

"You were having a great time and I didn't want ruin the night for you."

I nodded. That certainly would have dampened the festivities for me. "So why are you here now? Did you think waiting would make it easier on me, because I'll tell you the truth, it won't. You could have just left – that probably would have been the best way."

"I thought about it," he admitted. "But I couldn't bring myself to leave without seeing you one last time."

Great. Just when I thought I had my emotions under control. "Well, here I am – you can go now."

He shifted from foot to foot, his arms loose at his sides. "I didn't – I didn't want it to be this way, Steph. Do you really want me to leave now?"

To hell with it. I've never been great at subtlety anyway. "No, that's not what I want." I took the three steps necessary to put myself directly in front of him. "What I want is for you to rip all my clothes off, throw me on the bed and make love to me until the sun comes up."

His eyes flared at me and burned for a hot second with undisguised desire. He wanted that too, maybe even more than I did. I reached out and ran a finger down the center of his chest. He sucked in air through his teeth and his hand came up to catch mine. "Stephanie…"

"Ranger," I countered and licked my suddenly dry lips.

"This is not a good idea." His voice was strained and there was a sense of deliberately exercised control.

"I don't really care," I said and removed my hand from his iron like grip. I reached behind me and unzipped my dress. It slid down my body and pooled at my feet. I stood there in my bra and panties and heels and Rangers eyes closed, his fists clenched into tight balls. "Babe. What are you doing? Even my control has a limit."

"Good," I said fiercely. "I want you to lose that legendary control. I want you to go crazy out of your mind for me."

He opened his eyes slowly and held my gaze. "I don't want to do this and then have to walk away from you again. I don't want that for you. You deserve more."

"Ranger…" I was vibrating with a tension that was almost tangible. Whatever happened from this point didn't matter. I was diving in head first determined not to have any regrets. I would take whatever he was willing to give and then I would let him go. "Touch me."

He made an inarticulate sound and then his hands slid around my bare waist and he pulled me into his rock hard body. I turned my face up to him and his mouth was instantly on mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and suddenly I was being carried to the bed. All I could think about was how much I wanted him. I wanted him naked and inside me.

And then he was.

I don't know how many times we thoroughly destroyed each other but it was before sunrise when, completely spent, I fell asleep in his arms. I tried hard to fight it because I knew I would wake up alone but I couldn't force myself to stay awake.

Sure enough, when I finally pried my eyes open, the sun was shining and he was gone.

I sat up in my bed and grabbed my phone from my nightstand. I didn't know when I had made the decision, but there it was. I scrolled through my contacts until I got to the one I was looking for. I swore I would only dial that number in the direst of emergencies, but I pushed the call button anyway.

I knew it was early, but I didn't think it would matter. He picked up after two rings. "I need your help," I said.


	5. Conclusion

_And now in conclusion – Ranger's POV_

_I have been overwhelmed by your comments and reviews – and although most of you have been very angry with Ranger's stupidity – I hope you won't be too hard on him after this – he's pretty dumb, but I haven't yet met a man who isn't. _

_Thank you again for giving me the encouragement to keep writing._

_As always - I do not profit in any way - this is strictly for fun._

* * *

_#########_

It was sometime around midnight and I'd been trying to sleep for the better part of an hour with no success. All the tossing and turning made a tangled mess of the sheets and blankets so I stripped my bed and remade it just to have something to occupy my mind, other than Stephanie Plum of course.

I thought coming to Miami would make it easier but she's been a constant presence in my brain since I walked out of her life two weeks ago. I think about her more now than I did when I lived ten minutes away. I suppose that would be considered irony, or poetic justice – retribution maybe? Pick your favorite word or expression.

Now that my bed is back to normal I have nothing else to keep the mental movies of her from playing in my head. Nothing on TV could hold my interest and the radio was a disaster. Every song just brought her back to the forefront of my thoughts.

In all honesty, that's where she's been since the first day I laid eyes on her.

I really don't even know how it happened. I've never let myself get that close to a woman before – not even Julie's Mother. It just caused problems I didn't need or want in the life I had so carefully crafted for myself.

I'd never had any regrets about the choices I'd made. Not until Stephanie.

I'd wanted her the second she walked into that diner the day they we met. It had surprised me; I'd never had that instant of an attraction to anyone. There was obviously something different about her and I didn't know what it was or how I'd let her get inside my head. But I had and she was apparently there to stay.

I'd let myself get too close to her. I'd let myself care about her way too much. I'd let myself love her – and because I'm an asshole and didn't know how to handle it, I let myself hurt her by walking away - more than once.

This time, I walked all the way to Miami. There was trouble here with a high profile client that needed my personal attention so I had to come, but I certainly didn't have to stay. I decided that the distance between us would let me end what I'd let get out of hand between us. That I'd be able to forget and go back to the life I had before I met her.

Twelve hundred miles apart should have let me forget how just seeing her made my day a little brighter- or how it made me smile every time she rolled her eyes, even though it annoyed me when anyone else did it. It should have been enough to let me forget how she'd melt into me whenever I kissed her like her bones had suddenly turned to jelly.

It should have let me forget that she ever existed.

But that was all bullshit.

I knew before I came here that I would never be able to forget. I knew the first time I took her to bed– the second I buried myself deep inside her – that I would never be able to get her out of my head or my heart.

Again, I am an asshole.

God, I missed her. Her smile, her kiss, her _touch._ Sometimes I think my brain short circuits when she touches me. Doesn't even matter where; my shoulder, a knee, my fingers. I let out an audible sigh and flopped down onto the bed I'd just made with ingrained military precision. I stretched out on my back and as soon as I closed my eyes images from the last night we were together flashed behind them. Stephanie had done some wondrous things with her mouth that night and there had been many nights since my arrival in Miami where that thought alone had kept me awake and as hard as a teenage boy with his first erection.

That same thought had intruded during a meeting this afternoon and I had actually had to leave the room to get my body back under control. If I hadn't left the office so quickly the look on Silvo's face at my hasty departure would have made me laugh. When he asked about it later I made up a story about eating some questionable tacos and needing the bathroom immediately. I don't know if he bought it, but there was no way I was going to admit to having sexual fantasies during an interview with potential new clients.

Now, for the third time today, I'm having the same problem. I could feel my dick throbbing beneath the zipper of my cargos. At least, since it wasn't the middle of the workday, I had some options. I could hit any number of clubs downtown and find any number of women willing to help with the situation, but honestly I hadn't been with anyone else since the first time with Stephanie. And, I no longer had any desire for anyone other than her. I could, of course, take care of it myself - I do have two very useful hands-but that didn't hold any appeal either. Copious amounts of exercise usually did the trick so I jumped off my bed, changed quickly into running clothes, and headed out.

I picked up my keys from the sideboard in the foyer and yanked open my door. I think my jaw dropped to the floor when I saw the object of my affection standing there with her arm raised, ready to knock.

She looked up at me through thick, dark lashes and slowly lowered her hand to her side. Her hair was down and loose around her shoulders and she was wearing the aqua shirt with the low scoop neck that nearly drove me out of my mind. It made the blue of her eyes so deep I thought I might drown in their depths. "We need to talk," she said as I continued to stare at her.

I tried, but no words would come so I did the thing I'd wanted to do for two weeks. I grabbed her, pulled her close and wrapped my arms around her.

She protested, but only mildly and only for a second before her hands slid around my waist. I held her tightly with my cheek resting on the top of her hair. I don't know how long we stood there but eventually she pulled back slightly and tilted her face up to mine. "Ranger…" she began but I still couldn't think of a thing to say so I slanted my mouth over hers and when she parted her lips willingly and touched her tongue to mine, she melted against my body and I moved my arms further down her back to keep her from falling.

We kissed until our hearts raced and our breath exhaled in short uneven gasps. This was doing nothing to alleviate my problem which I knew she could feel pressing into her abdomen. If we didn't get inside I was going to rip her clothes off and take her right there in the lobby of my apartment.

I stepped back from her and she released her hold on my waist. I ushered her into my foyer with my hand at the small of her back. I relieved her of the overnight bag and purse she had slung over her shoulder and set them down on the floor next to the table. I took her hand and tugged her into the living room.

Her head swiveled in every direction taking in the opulence of my apartment. It was nearly identical to the one in Trenton but she'd never been to that one so I'm sure this was a bit of a shock for her. I think she was convinced I lived in a cave like Batman.

We stopped in the middle of the room and I looked around unsure of what do next. Offer her a drink? Have her sit down? Cart her off to my bedroom and have my wicked, wicked way with her? I was just so damn happy to see her I couldn't keep a clear thought in my head.

"I can't believe you're here," I finally managed to say. And then I realized that she had to have had help – otherwise she never would have been able to enter the building without my knowledge. "Was it Tank, or Bobby?"

She pulled her bottom lip in with her teeth and her expression was slightly sheepish. "Both. Are they in trouble?"

"Normally yes, but in this instance I'm inclined to not give a shit." In fact I might have to kiss both of them on the mouth the next time I see them. The corners of her lips twitched up in a small smile. "I didn't think you'd ever want to see me again."

"Were you going to try and see me again?" She wanted to know.

Instead of answering I released her hand and picked up the phone from the table at the end of my couch and dialed extension forty two. I held her gaze as it rang in my ear and when Silvo answered I said, "When does my flight to Newark leave tomorrow?" There was a pause and I could picture the look of confusion on his face. It was the last thing he and I discussed today.

"Seven p.m. Didn't I tell you that earlier?" he replied.

"Yes, you did tell me; I was just confirming, thanks." I placed the receiver back in the cradle without breaking eye contact with her.

"You're coming back? To Trenton?" Her face held equal amounts of surprise and hopefulness.

"Yeah," I confirmed simply.

"You said you weren't," she countered.

"Apparently I lied."

"Why?"

"Why did I lie?"

"Why are you coming home?"

I took a deep breath and tried to wrangle all my scattered reasons into one coherent though. I knew this would be my only shot. If I screwed it up I would lose her – probably for good. I took the two steps back to her from the phone and cupped both of her cheeks in the palm of my hands. I needed her to not be able to look away – for her to see the truth of what I was about to say in my eyes.

I kissed her softly, gently and then I said, "Because I am so in love with you that half the time I can't concentrate on anything else and I didn't think I could spend one more day here without you."

"_Wow_," she whispered and her eyes fluttered closed. The look on her face reminded me of when she ate her Mom's cake. Or doughnuts. Or chocolate pudding. I hoped that was a good sign.

I took advantage while her eyes were closed and kissed her again. I was pretty sure I could spend entire days just kissing her and be extremely happy about it.

Eventually she looked at me again and said, "Can I sit down? I feel a little wobbly."

I guided her into the leather arm chair across from my couch and crouched down in front of her, taking her hand in mine. "Are you okay?"

She sucked in a huge breath and blew it out slowly. "Yeah. I just – I had this whole speech planed out and you sort of derailed my brain. I don't even think I remember what I was going to say."

I turned her hand and brushed my lips over the center of her palm. "How bout I talk some more?"

"I think I could listen to you talk all night after that."

I couldn't help but smile. I don't think I've smiled as much in my entire life as I have when I'm around Stephanie.

"I'm sorry that I hurt you, Steph. I should have been man enough to tell you how I felt. Instead, I'm sure I confused the shit out of you by continuously pulling you close while pushing you away at the same time. I've never let myself love anyone before and I didn't know what to do or even if I wanted to be in love."

She squeezed my hand and reached for the other one. "You seem to be taking all the blame for whatever this is that's been going on between us but you know, I didn't tell you how I felt either."

"How do you feel?" I asked and winced at the demanding tone I heard in my voice.

"Well," she began. "I know that no man has ever made me feel the way I feel when I'm with you."

I exhaled the breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. "Stephanie?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you back."

I sat on the floor and pulled her from the chair and into my lap. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me long and slow and deep. "Ranger," she said stopping so we could both take a breath, "where do we go from here?"

I speared my fingers into her hair and kissed the tip of her nose. "I'm not sure."

"Are we…in a relationship now?"

"Yeah, we are."

"What kind?"

"I don't really know – but I think we have all the time in the world to figure it out."

She nodded her agreement and then said, "Can we start working on that in the bedroom because if I don't get you inside me soon I think I might actually self combust."

I rose from the floor faster than should have been possible with her in my arms and carried her to the bedroom, removing our clothes along the way. We were both naked by the time we reached the bed and I gently laid her on her back while she wrapped her legs around my waist.

Then, as she requested, I buried myself deep inside her with one powerful stroke.

We made love until the sun came up and I could no longer keep my eyes open. I fell asleep curled up to her side, my face nuzzled in the crook of her neck and my arm draped across her stomach possessively.

When I awoke a few hours later I was cold and reached for her. She was warmer than any blanket.

I shot up in bed when my arms slid over the empty space where she should have been.

Stephanie was gone.

I went into full blown panic mode and jumped out of bed. I checked the clock to see if I could determine how big of a head start she had.

I'd thought it was around seven when I'd fallen asleep and now it was nearly noon. I had been dead to the world after our night of devouring each other and she could have left at any point during those five hours. _Shit._

I spun and round to grab the phone so I could call the control room to see when she left and saw her leaning on the door jamb to my room. She was wearing one of my t-shirts and holding a bottle of water in one hand.

"Are you okay," she asked with a slight smirk. "You're looking a little…panicked."

I felt my shoulders sag in relief and I began rubbing my chest right over my heart to try and get it to stop pounding beneath my ribs.

"Did you think I'd left?"

"Maybe," I half admitted and stalked over to her. I drew her into my arms, needing to touch her to make sure she was really there.

"I'm not going anywhere," she assured me.

"That's the best thing I've heard in long time," I said. I picked her up and carried her back to bed.

I didn't plan on going anywhere either. Not ever again.


	6. Epilogue

_AN: As a heartfelt thank you for all the reviews and comments and encouragement from all of you here is a short little epilogue as my gift to you. _

_I hope you enjoy one last glimpse of my far from perfect versions of R & S_

_Oh - there should be a warning for a tiny bit of smut. _

_Ranger's POV_

_#######_

* * *

"_Babe."_

I tried to keep the impatience out of my voice because I knew this was hard for her, but I was ready to go. We'd been at it for half the day and I just wanted to get home and into a hot shower – preferably a _shared _hot shower.

"Hmmm?" She was wringing her hands together and I could see that she was biting the inside of her cheek to keep from crying.

"There's nothing left to do," I said for the second time. "It's time to go."

She turned to me, her eyes swimming with unshed tears. "What if you get tired of me?"

I bit back the sigh that wanted to escape. I don't even know how many times we've had this discussion. I saw the single tear that slipped down her cheek as she tried to look away from me. Even after all this time she hated to cry in front of me. She thought it made her seem weak.

I used my finger to bring her face back to mine. "Stephanie, it's been two years. I'm not going to get tired of you. Ninety percent of the time we're together I still can't keep my hands off of you. Don't you remember what happened two weeks ago after we left Rossini's?"

A small smile began to tug her lips up as she remembered our after dinner activities. "If I recall, we thoroughly defiled the backseat of your Mercedes because you said there was no way you could wait the fifteen minutes it would have taken us to drive home."

"That's right," I said. "What about the elevator two nights ago?" I watched her eyes dilate with lust at the memory that invoked. I leaned in close and whispered in her ear. "Remember what I did to your panties?" Her cheeks turned bright pink and she lowered her head to hide her smile from me. It amazed me how she still got embarrassed when I talked about sex.

It wasn't really my fault – we'd been at her parents for dinner and because her sister and her brood were all there as well her Grandmother's latest "man friend" we'd ended up sitting across from each other. Stephanie spent the entire meal with her toes in my crotch under the table.

By the time we left I was so hard I couldn't even talk and she's lucky we were in my Turbo or I would have had to have her in the car again. As soon as I got her into the elevator at Rangeman, I hit the emergency stop button and scrambled the security feed. I bent her over at the waist, shoved the long flowing skirt she was wearing up her impossibly long legs and ripped the brand new Victoria's Secret lace thong she had just purchased off her body. She screamed my name as I thrust inside her from behind and I was grateful I'd had the elevators sound proofed because we both made a lot of noise that night.

_Damn_. I was getting hot thinking about that again.

"And haven't we spent the last six hours here packing up your stuff when it should have taken two, tops?"

She looked at her watch and her eyes widen in surprise at the time. "That's right," I confirmed. "It's taken this long because you look so fucking hot in those cut off jean shorts that every time you bent over I had to have you."

That got a full blown smile from her. "I think you bent over in every room even if you didn't have to just to drive me crazy."

"Not every room," she countered quickly. "We never made it to the kitchen."

I raised a single eyebrow. That sounded like a challenge. I love a good challenge. I grabbed her, threw her over my shoulder and carted her off to the kitchen. I set her down on the counter, slid between her legs and drew her into my arms for a long, slow kiss.

Her nipples were hard under her t-shirt and I had to touch them. I slipped my hand up under the soft material and covered her bare breast with my palm. She'd stopped putting her bra back on after the fourth time I took it off her so I had unobstructed access. A small moan sounded in the back of her throat at the contact and I pulled her shirt off completely and replaced my hand with my mouth.

My name fell from her lips on soft sigh and that was always my undoing. Her voice was filled with love and lust and passion and I was going to bust through my zipper if I didn't get inside her. I removed her shorts and panties and divested myself of the constraints of my pants.

I slid my hands up the outside of her thighs and gripped her hips to scoot her to my waiting erection. Her head tipped back and her eyes closed in anticipation of what was about to happen.

"Look at me, Steph," I said softly. Her head came up and her eyes opened slowly. They were dilated to the deepest midnight blue and I had to use all of my self-control not do dive into her right then. "Can you feel what you do to me?" I pressed into her lightly and she sucked in a sharp breath.

"_Yes," _she hissed and dug her nails into my shoulders.

"I will never get tired of this." I slipped in an inch and bent my head to kiss her. "I will never get tired of you." One more inch inside. "I will never get tired of us." I rolled my hips and pushed in all the way.

Her arms wrapped around my neck and her hips rushed to meet my every thrust. "I love you," she whispered in my ear as she came and it took me over the edge with her.

########

* * *

She was quiet on the drive to Rangeman. Standard for me, I normally don't talk when I drive but it was unusual for her. I linked my fingers through hers and didn't press her to share her thoughts. I knew what they were. She was giving up her home so we could share one together and now she was quietly mourning the loss of her previous life.

It wouldn't last long; she'd practically been living with me for the past six months anyway, but it was still difficult. I knew she felt like she was giving up some of her fiercely guarded independence so I would give her the time and space she needed to adjust.

She still hadn't spoken as we entered the elevator so I decided to break the silence. "Manny and Vince are right behind us with the van," I said. She didn't have a lot of personal possessions but she loved the few things she did and I knew she would feel better as soon as they were in the apartment on seven.

"I know," she said. "I don't know why I feel so sad; I mean I haven't really lived there for a long time. I don't think I can even remember the last time I slept in that bed."

I pulled her into a hug. "That apartment was your home for years, Babe. It's okay to feel sad about giving it up."

She smiled up at me. "How do you always know the right thing to say?"

"I'm incredibly gifted."

She laughed and squeezed me tightly.

"I know something that will take your mind off it completely," I said casually.

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

I pressed the stop button on the wall and scrambled the camera. "A repeat elevator performance."

Her cheeks flushed pink but she was already reaching for the button of my cargos. Yeah - there was no possible way I would ever get tired of this woman.

Fifteen minutes later we walked into our apartment hand in hand and two minutes later the guys arrived with the moving boxes. Vince was mumbling about something being wrong with the elevator and how they had to take the stairs and Steph had to leave the room to keep from laughing.

When all the boxes were stacked against the wall in the living room and the men were gone I drew her into my arms. "Welcome home, Babe."

She turned her face to me and grinned. Her eyes still held a hint of sadness but I knew it would be gone soon. She loved me and she loved this apartment and she loved our life together. "Thank you, Ranger. Thank you for letting me bring my crappy stuff and always making me feel like I belong here."

"You do belong here, Babe. Always."

"G_od_, I love you," she said.

"I love you too. Do you want to unpack now or wait until tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow. I think I just want to take a shower and go to bed."

"Good. Me too. But first, I have a present for you." I released her and walked over to the counter where I'd left the envelope earlier.

"_Ranger," _Steph growled out my name in frustration. She still wasn't comfortable with the amount of money I spent on her, but I wasn't ever going to stop so she'd just have to get used to it.

I smiled and crossed back to her, envelope in hand. "You have to stop doing this." Her voice was exasperated, but she took it from me and pulled out the contents. She stared at the tickets for a full minute before her eyes found mine again. "We're going to Miami?"

"Tomorrow it will be two years since the night you showed up at my door and made me the luckiest man on the planet. I thought we should celebrate the occasion by going back for a visit."

She glanced back down at the tickets and ran her thumb over paper. "Well, I never did get to see any of the city since you kept me in your bed the entire time."

I tipped my head back and laughed out loud. She is the only one who has ever been able to make me laugh like that. "Yeah, I was a bit insatiable." I grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and pulled her against my body. "I still can't get enough of you." I covered her mouth and kissed her until her legs turned to jelly.

We were both breathing hard when I pulled away. She cleared her throat and shook her head as if that would help her focus. "Well this time I want to see everything. The city, the beach – and I want you to take me to all those Cuban restaurants you're always talking about."

"Done," I said and tucked a loose curl of hair behind her ear. "There is one other thing I'd like for us to do while we're there – and it's kind of personal."

"You know I'd do anything for you, Ranger."

"Before we get married, I'd like you to meet my daughter."

Her eyes lit up and she wrapped her arms around my waist. "I would love to meet your daughter." I counted in my head to see how long it would take her. I got to twenty.

She pulled back and out of my arms. Her eyes were wide and her lips were open, forming a small 'O'.

"Ranger…..did you just ask me to marry you?"

I scratched my eyebrow with a pinky and tried not to laugh at the look on her face. "I guess that depends on what your answer would be."

"Shit," she said softly and blindly sat down in the arm chair across from the couch. She almost missed it completely but caught herself before she fell on the floor. "We've never talked about getting married. Not even once."

"We're talking about it now," I said and kneeled down in front of her.

"You know I don't need a piece of paper to tell me that you're mine, right?"

"I know," I agreed. "I don't either, but I've discovered that I want one. I _want _to be married to you, Stephanie."

"You always know exactly what to say. How do you do that?"

"I told you, I'm gifted."

She threw herself into my arms and hugged my tightly. "Is that a yes?" I asked.

"Yes. It's definitely a yes," she confirmed and pulled back so she could kiss me. "But first, I'd like to take a nice hot shower with my future husband."

There was nothing else at that moment that I would rather do.


End file.
